#population decline

#population decline

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China aims to impose a unique strategy to address a falling birth rate that threatens its long-term stability. As of January 1, 2026, the government will levy a 13 percent value-added tax (VAT) on various contraceptives, including condoms. The decision amends the Value Added Tax Law, which in 1993 exempted birth control products from taxation. At the time, the measure was part of China's effort to contain its accelerating population growth.

New estimates released on Wednesday by Statistics Canada showed that Canada's population fell by 0.2% in the third quarter to stand at 41.6 million, down from 41.65 million on 1 July. It was the only other quarterly decline on record came in 2020, and was attributed to Covid-19 border restrictions. The recent decline, however, is driven largely by a drop in the number of international students studying in Canada after Ottawa pledged to tamp down on the number of study permits issued.

The shift could make African countries among the fastest-growing economies in the world - or create a string of humanitarian crises that may define the start of the next century. By the numbers: Africa will become the world's demographic center of gravity as it more than doubles its population from 2030 to 2100, the U.S. Census Bureau's International Database (IDB) released last week projects.

Not to work specific jobs. Not to invest. Just to be under 35 and breathe their air. Applications open next month and nobody knows about it. The island is dying. Average age hitting 50. Schools closing. Businesses can't find workers. Portuguese kids all fled to Lisbon or London. So now they're paying foreigners to come save their island, and Americans are sleeping on it while competing for $3,000 studio apartments in Austin.

On a clear but chilly autumn day, Poa Pohjola and her partner Wilhelm Blomberg are relaxing in their Helsinki apartment while their baby naps outside on the balcony, in traditional Finnish style. "They sleep very well outside, in colder degrees, I think," Pohjola said with a laugh. "Or, that's how I grew up thinking." Pohjola is 38 and Blomberg is 35. They've been together for about three years, and they started talking about having a baby early on - even though Pohjola had once thought she might never have kids.

Sliwa - who was born in New York City, founded the Guardian Angels in 1979 and says he'll "die in this city" - is the current underdog in the race for mayor. A recently released Quinnipiac University poll found that Democratic Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani leads with 46% of likely voters backing him, followed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 33% and Sliwa with 15%.

Russian president Vladimir Putin was caught chatting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping - about the light topic of organ transplants, and how they could let "us live younger and younger, and perhaps even achieve immortality." As ABC News reports, the comments were overheard on a hot mic attached to Putin's interpreter, who was translating his words into Mandarin at a parade in Beijing this week commemorating the end of World War II and showing off fearsome new Chinese military might.

The practice of selling homes for 1 euro to attract residents to remote areas is common in Italy, and is also emerging in France, though less frequently.

In recent years, the declining birth rate has sparked widespread concern among policymakers, prompting discussions about its socio-economic implications and potential long-term effects on society.